A former Mesquite police chief charged with a felony for recording city leaders talking at City Hall was acting lawfully at the time, his attorney argued in new court filings.
MaQuade Chesley has been charged in Mesquite Justice Court with a single felony count of monitoring or attempting to monitor a private conversation. The Mesquite Police Department — which Chesley used to supervise — alleged in an affidavit tied to the April charge that Chesley secretly recorded a conversation at Mesquite City Hall in May 2024 involving two then city council members and the city’s then director of parks and recreation.
Chesley’s attorney, Colleen Savage, filed a motion to dismiss the case against Chesley in Mesquite Justice Court on July 20. She said the Metropolitan Police Department initially investigated Chesley at the request of the city of Mesquite, but Metro chose not to pursue the surreptitious recording charge.
Months later, on the same day that Chesley was deposed in federal litigation he’d filed against the city, Mesquite police opened their own investigation, she said.
“Interestingly, MPD’s investigation was initiated only after Mr. Chesley filed a separate civil lawsuit against the City of Mesquite alleging wrongful termination in violation of the Peace Officer Bill of Rights,” Savage said.
Requests for comment from a Clark County prosecutor assigned to Chesley’s case and the city of Mesquite were pending Monday. The Mesquite Police Department said the department supports the Clark County district attorney’s office as it prosecutes the case.
Chesley was fired by the city in January 2025. The city cited the unauthorized recording as a reason why he was fired.
Police chief heard city discussions, attorney says
According to his defense attorney’s motion, Chesley was at Mesquite City Hall on May 21, 2024, when he noticed current Mayor Pro-Tem Karen Fielding talking with then council member Brian Wursten and then Director of Parks and Recreation Nick Montoya in a downstairs lobby of City Hall.
Chesley was wearing his uniform at the time and overheard the trio’s conversation in a public setting, his attorney said. He began to record the conversation after hearing talk about accessing a co-worker’s private office.
“During the conversation, the Recorded Parties openly discussed numerous matters of public concern that were readily audible to Mr. Chesley and anyone passing through the area,” Savage wrote. “Among other things, they discussed their desire to unlawfully gain access to a co-worker’s private office, their dissatisfaction with the Mesquite Police Department and Mr. Chesley in his capacity as Chief of Police, ongoing civil litigation involving Mr. Chesley, and Deputy City Manager Martine Green.”
Savage said the conversation was by its nature not private as the trio was discussing city issues in City Hall. She said after Chesley made the recording, he disclosed its existence to Mesquite police Capts. Quinn Averett and Jordan Bundy and Green. Savage said Chesley was ultimately fired only a week after the then city attorney, Michael Branum, became aware of the recording.
Chesley filed a civil complaint against the city in federal court on Feb. 3, 2025, and a state court complaint on March 3, 2025, against the city.
After Chesley was fired, Branum contacted Metro and requested an investigation, the attorney said. Savage said an unidentified undersheriff at Metro ultimately determined “LVMPD was not going to pursue charges” and the investigation was concluded.
Investigation moves to Mesquite PD
On Nov. 11, 2025, Chesley was deposed in his federal wrongful termination case, the attorney said. The same day, Savage said Fielding called 911 to report of a “secret recording” that Chesley had made of her and others, “nearly a year and a half after the recording was taken,” Savage wrote.
Henderson police said in an affidavit that Fielding had recently learned how a Henderson City Council member had been charged with a felony after allegedly surreptitiously recording a fellow council member.
Mesquite police then investigated the matter despite the prior Metro investigation, which Savage claimed resulted in a biased investigation riddled with errors.
Chesley recently reached a $1.4 million settlement with the municipality to settle some but not all of the civil litigation he’s filed against the city. Chesley’s federal complaint against the city is still pending.
Branum said Monday it will be up to the court system to determine whether Chesley’s actions were legal.
“I gave advice during my employment at the city of Mesquite to the city manager and City Council with my best legal interpretation of potential crimes that might have been committed by the recording, which Mr. Chesley on numerous occasions admitted that he made,” Branum said. “His contention is that what he did was legal. I had serious concerns that his conduct was not legal.”
Branum questioned any claim that the criminal case against Chesley was retaliation by the city, noting Clark County prosecutors filed the complaint against Chesley after reviewing evidence in the case.
“They felt like their was enough to bring charges,” Branum said. “It is a stretched argument to say this is all retaliation.”
Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com.
